Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Here it is September 17th. How time flies! I thought I'd be writing up a storm by now, but guess what: we're still involved in the hellacious home renovation. A hot water pipe burst in the slab, flooded our bedroom and the hallway so our new wood laminate floors have been pulled up. Four holes were cut in the walls trying to locate the source of the problem, then holes were cut at the bottom of our new kitchen cabinets so tubes attached to fans could blow the water dry. My vow was to edit/revise my novel by early November. I'm trying but at a snail's pace. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

Let's focus on something more pleasant, and certainly more beautiful--our daughter's wedding. I'll share some photos with you. As some of you know, it was a "literary" wedding. Every table centerpiece was a stack of three books.

Guests registered in a wonderful coffee table book called Books Do Decorate a Room. They just turned to their favorite page and signed. Below, you can see the delicious cake and the bride's fancy shoes. She was determined her feet would NOT hurt during the wedding reception!

Her dad shook hands with the groom. The groomsmen looked on. As you can see, daughter had some beautiful bridesmaids. Three of them are best friends from her LSU days--they met her freshman year (2001) and have been BFFs ever since.

Friday, September 5, 2014

After our daughter's wedding on August 23rd, I came home to find a book in my mailbox. I turned to the first page and didn't put it down until I'd finished it. Gina Holmes has written a fast paced story in Driftwood Tides.
I didn't feel as though I was reading a book. I felt like I was in the middle of some really dysfunctional lives.
Excellent storytelling.

Gina Holmes is the founder of Novel Rocket, regularly named as one of Writers Digest’s best websites for writers. Her debut, Crossing Oceans, was a Christy and Gold Medallion finalist and winner of the Carol Award, INSPY, and RWA’s Inspirational Reader’s Choice, as well as being a CBA, ECPA, Amazon and PW bestseller. Her sophomore novel, Dry as Rain was a Christy Award finalist. Her latest novel, Wings of Glass has been named as one of the best books of the year by Library Journal and was a SIBA Okra pick and a finalist for Romantic Times’ Reviewers Choice Award. She holds degrees in science and nursing and currently resides with her family in southern Virginia. She works too hard, laughs too loud, and longs to see others heal from their past and discover their God-given purpose.

ABOUT THE BOOK

He made himself an island until something unexpected washed ashore.
When Holton lost his wife, Adele, in a freak accident, he shut himself off from the world, living a life of seclusion, making drifwood sculptures and drowning his pain in gin. Until twenty-three-year-old Libby knocks on his door, asking for a job and claiming to be a friend of his late wife. When he discovers Libby is actually his late wife’s illegitimate daughter, given up for adoption without his knowledge, his life is turned upside down as he struggles to accept that the wife he’d given saint status to was not the woman he thought he knew.

Together Holton and Libby form an unlikely bond as the two struggle to learn the identity of Libby’s father and the truth about Adele, themselves, and each other.

Today is the first day
of the rest of your life.Charles
Dederich, a reformed alcoholic and a member of Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.), was said to have
coined that phrase. I like it. I say it to myself a lot. I like the idea of
being able to start anew whenever I feel the need. That’s fairly often these
days.

Our son was
married last October 5th. We traveled to Florida for a destination
wedding.

On August 23rd
daughter walked down the aisle on her daddy’s arm and pledged life and love to her
groom. And so began the first day of the rest of her life as a wife.

We’re In-laws now.
God help us be a good and considerate mother in law and father in law!

Hubby and I are
sharing so many new experiences in our old
age:

1)Retirement.We actually live together day in and day out.
Because of his work in the construction industry, we’ve not lived together
much. That’s taking some getting used to—probably for both of us but especially
for me.

2)Renovation.
This has been a hellacious experience that neither of us want to repeat. It began March 3rd and it’s still happening. Need I say more?

3)Church: Because I was raised Baptist, we’ve
spent the first half of our marriage attending the Baptist church, but when we
moved to Oklahoma, we gravitated toward Assembly of God and found a
wonderful church with beautiful people. Back in Lake Charles, we chose to keep
going to an AG church. It's been unusual and interesting. We should never forget that The Bible is the true word of God--no pastor, preacher, evangelist, priest or spiritual advisor. 'Nuff said.

Through all these experiences, I see the importance of
starting over if the need arises. I see the importance of keeping the faith,
and a positive attitude. I see the importance of truth, patience, love and loyalty, encouragement
and friendships. New experiences come daily and affect our lives in one way or
another. That means they affect our writing too. They stimulate new ideas to
write about, or they stymie us so that we can’t write. I think it's our choice.

I have several unfinished and roughly finished manuscripts
that nag at me constantly. I’ve felt like giving up out of frustration—just because
I haven’t had the time or focus, and no comfortable workspace. I’m not good at
grabbing time—writing a paragraph today, a page tomorrow. I like working in
long, flowing hours. Right or wrong, I need to see progress in my word count.

Today, I woke up thinking, “Today is the first day of the
rest of my life” and another thought popped into my head: What if it was the last day? The thought surprised me.

I want to write. I’ve always wanted to write and publish but I’ve always
stood in my own way.

Today I set two specific goals. We have our annual Bayou Writers
Conference on November 8th so I will have a completed novel to pitch
to the agent on that day.I just like
one or two more chapters and a few scenes to add. Dedication and focus can get
it done.

My second goal is to get back to blogging. I’ve missed it. I
used to blog daily but today I pledge two or three posts a week.

Today is the first day of the rest of your life. Want to
rededicate yourself to something dear? How do you want to start over? Any goals
you need to stalk? Share with us.

A to Z Challenge

Praise, Prayers and Observations

Women's Fiction Writers Association

I was a TOP 10 FINALIST

CRIMESPACE

Click here to read my daughter.

CREATIVE LANDSLIDE

The books I receive are FREE and they are shipped by the publisher. As a CFBA reviewer, I am required to have an established blog with an active readership, a love for books and a desire to promote Christian fiction. I am permitted to post the standard CFBA post for the book without writing a personal review. Of course it is preferred that I have a personal opinion of the book in the post--sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. My reasons vary. Sometimes I don't like the book as much as I thought I would; other times I may not have received the book in time to read it. I'm always required to participate in the blog tour if I have committed to do so.